A Promise never Forgotten
by Dragon Queen Niji
Summary: Long ago, the strongest of beasts made a promise that last through the age. A promise he would never forget, a lesson he would teach his own children, a man's dying wish... This is his story, his beginning, a memory that always motives him to the very end. A promise never forgotten...


**A/N: This a one-shot I wrote awhile back I didn't feel like posting it til now but I think it's best that it out there. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Of all my siblings I was closest to father...**

Young Kurama happily skipped his way to his dying father, though despite being the most powerful of all his siblings, he also the youngest of them all and just as naive as any child. He wanted show his sickly father his new transformation technique. He can look like his father and older brothers. As he drew closer to his father's room, a horrible coughing could be heard from where he stood.

 **It wasn't because I was the strongest or even the youngest of them all but...**

Worriedly, he rushed into the room.

 _"Tou-san!"_

Hagoromo continued to cough but he let out a strangled noise out of surprise. He wasn't expecting anyone to visit him.

 _"Tou-san?"_

 _'Wait, is that...'_

"Kurama? Is that you my boy?"

The small boy's bright eyes shined.

 _"_ _Hai! I'm like you and Aniki. And Nii-san!"_

The elder chuckled softly, he reach over traced the marks on Kurama's cheek.

"Not quite boy."

Kurama huffed and pouted. His transformation wasn't perfect but he tried! Instead of looking fully human, Kurama had taken the firm of a small boy around six years of age, short spiky red-orange hair and wear one of Indra's old clothes form his childhood. But that wasn't what is wrong with the transformation, it was the two large fox ears poking from the top if his head, nine fluffy tails swaying behind him, and three whisker marks on each cheek.

 **It was because I _needed_ him the most...**

 _"I tried my best tou-san."_

"I can see that Kurama."

They laughed together and began talking like they always do when Kurama visits. It was nearing the end of the day when the kit frown, his ears lowering along. He was about to speak when the room shook from an explosion.

 _"Tou-san!"_ Hagoromo stared at his frightened kit that started to cry. The fox boy whimpered as his tears fell down his whiskered cheeks. His chubby hands trying to wipes as many tears as he could but with his enhanced senses, he could still hear every echo, bang, boom, and shouts.

 _"Tou-san SNIFF why do Aniki and nii-san always fight? SNIFF SNIFF"_

Guilt began to eat away at Hagoromo. He knew why his sons fight but as a small wish, he told the others not to tell little Kurama, who idolize their human siblings. They lie or tell him that they'll explain it another day but never do. But here, where his son is asking why his brothers fight, with tears and red eyes begging him for him to tell the truth or reassure him that it's going to stop.

He can only give him one answer.

"Love, my son."

 **He understood me the best...**

Kurama blinked. He cutely notched his head, his ears swaying in the same direction. Hagoromo chuckled at the action.

 _"Love, tou-san?"_

Kurama squinted his eyes close and crossed his arms in concretion. It was his thinking face, everyone thought it was cute in his fox form but now in his newly acquired human form, it was just super adorable!

 _"How does love make Aniki and nii-san fight, tou-san?"_

Hagoromo sighed sadly as he ruffled the kit's hair. Kurama purred contently at the affection given.

"Love is a beautiful blessing and a horrendous curse..."

Kurama hummed in surprise.

"Blessing because it can bring people together, from friendship to lovers. To bringing a child to this plane, to being the glue that hold together a misfit family..."

The Kitsune sighed happily as Hagoromo continued petting him as his father started to speak in a gloomy tone, which didn't go unnoticed by the young fox.

"But it is also a curse because of those things as well..."

 _"What do you mean, tou-san?"_

"Love it can turn a person full of hatred and jealousy. To become depressed, lonely, and paranoid. A single misunderstanding or misplace trust could alter a person view on others, how they proceed everyone's actions around them. Love can push a person pass their limit, whether for better or worse..."

Kurama squeaked in surprise, love can do all that! Dread filled the pit of his stomach.

 _"But tou-san! Why is love making them fight!?"_

"Because Indra believes I love Asura more than him, it made him jealous of his brother and grew to hate him."

Kurama gasped. _"But that's just silly, tou-san! You love all of us the same, just like how I don't love any of my siblings more than the others! I might not be able to show how I love them because everyone is different and showing them I love isn't enough so I show them in my own way..."_

The old man was very aware how the youngest showed his love, from pulling harmless pranks to borrowing things, and sending them back gift wrapped. His older siblings find it annoying sometimes but still, they'll laugh along because that's what Kurama want, for everyone to laugh and smile with him.

"I'm well aware son, but that's not it. Love makes people do silly things. The people hardest to love is a parent or a child. You always fear that in some way you fail them, that you'll disappoint them, disgrace them. When they were young, Indra was a talented young man, a quick learner, everything I taught him, it didn't even take a day for him to fully understand it. Asura, on the other hand took awhile to learn, in fact, sometimes he couldn't get at all. I spend more time with him than, and in turn he understood my ideals. Indra, at first knew this, but as time went on, I had less interactions with Indra and more with Asura. Asura knew of my dream and wish to follow it...

"Indra never understood it, he grew to learn his own ideals, now that they are older I see it... He did work hard, just as hard as Asura but it took Asura longer to learn it. In the end it, I made a mistake, I thought I was making the right choice by choosing Asura as my heir but now I believe that if those two work together instead of fighting each other, that they would accomplish the impossible! Maybe one day they will do just that... Do the impossible."

 **He taught me me the best he could with the time he had left...**

Kurama tried hide his yawn.

"Look at this! A child listening to an old man's rambling. When you have children to call your own, you'll understand what I mean... " Hagoromo's breathing became heavy. "I know you'll teach them everything you know...teach them to work together and be able work with others... You'll love and care for them... Treat them equally, I just know it. They'll mean the world to you."

Kurama smiled as he snuggled close to his father. His eyes drooping, slowly falling asleep listening to his father slow, yet steady, heartbeat.

 _"When I have kits of my own... I would never let those close to them hurt them... Even if it were me..."_

Hagoromo smile as he heard his son's soft snores. He adjusted the child to a more comfortable position. Soon he too fell asleep. They both slept with a smile.

"I love you, Kurama, and all my children... Never forget that, okay?"

 _"Never, tou-san. Never!"_

 **Sometimes, the last time you speak with a loved one...**

 _Beat beat beat..._

 **Will also be the last time that you see their smile...**

 _Beat beat... Beat..._

 **The last time you hear them laugh, say your name, and tell you... They love you...**

 _Beat... Beat... Beat..._

 **The last time you get to hug and hold them close...**

 _Beat... Beat..._

 **And sometimes, you make a promise...**

 _Beat..._

 **One that you'll keep close to your heart...**

 _... Beat..._

 **One that you will one day fulfill...**

 _..._

 **But you never did expect it to be the last time...**

 _..._

 **It never crossed your mind...**

 _"Tou-san?"_

The red headed child woke when his source of warmth started to disappear.

 **You wish it wasn't so...**

 _"Tou-san? Tou-san, please wake up!"_

The boy shook his father, desperately trying to wake him.

 _"... Tou-san_?"

The boy was no stranger to death. He knew... He knew...

 **You don't want to believe...**

 _"Please... Tou-san, come back!"_

His yelling finally got the attention of his older siblings, who rushed. Metatabi, horrified, ran to Kurama and yanked him away from their father.

 _"Tou-san! Let me go! Tou-san! Please!"_

Kurama struggled against his sister's hold. Shikuku made his way to Hagoromo, blocking Kurama's view. Tears sprang from everyone's eyes, more so, as they watched their youngest sibling cry and beg for their father who passed away while holding his youngest child.

 _"No! Tou-san! Please let me go, Meta-nee. Tou-san! Tou-san!"_

Metatabi soon had to force Kurama to leave the room with him shouting the way he did. This was going to change him, it'll hit them hard when they'll see him as shell of his former self.

 ** _I_ didn't want to believe it.**

His cries echoed through the halls. A thick air was left in his wake as his cries grew farther and farther away.

 _"Tou-san!"_

 **I was so young and** **_naive..._**

 _"Tou-san, please!"_

 **But I held on to that promise, because of that...**

 _"Tou-san!"_

 **I was _different_ than my siblings.**

 _"DADDY!"_

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 **I'm so sorry if this made you cry... I cried when I wrote it. Initially I wrote this as a flashback to a full story but I started to hate what I wrote and the only good part of was the flashback so I kept it while I deleted the rest of the story. DON'T ASK FOR THE FULL STORY! I scraped it and wrote my Not By My Choice! and Ritoru Taiyo stories. If you read them then you know i was going to post a third story but I decided to change that and post this instead. BTW I was hoping if someone (who wants to) reads this decides to draw it out. I would love for that to happen, I would do it or have one of my friends do it but nobody has anytime to do it, so if anybody out there wants to do it I will gladly give you permission as long as you tell me and give me a link on where to find it. ;) I will also post this on DeviantArt ... just because. ( NijiofDragonIsle)**

 **Tell me what you think, feel, experienced, while you read it. I need to know, I love reading your review and comments, they give me hope. *animal tears***

 **I write the more you comment...**

 **Whelp this goodbye for now... Until next time.**

 **Ja~ne Dragon Queen Niji~**


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